Ned nodded; if he'd caught her meaning right when she said engaging then it was entirely understandable she wouldn't want her husband seeing what she was ordering. Most women who asked for these kinds of things didn't want anyone knowing they'd read them — which had always seemed a bit counterintuitive to Ned. If they wanted to actually do any of the things detailed in the books, reading their husbands in was rather necessary. Though, come to think of it — Ned wasn't sure he knew many men who would cheerfully admit to taking advice on their sex lives, much less from a cheap romance novel, so maybe it wasn't so surprising after all.

"I'm assuming you don't already have titles in mind?" he ventured. If she'd been looking for something specific, she probably would have just said it by now rather than beating around the bush. "I can get a list for you to browse, but — well," he said with an apologetic wince and a half-shrug, an it is what it is sort of gesture. "It would probably be helpful if you could be a little more specific. There are... quite a number of titles that fit the description of engaging but not discussed at parties. But I'm guessing you weren't after tales from the communist revolutions of India," he joked.

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